Community & Current Events

How you can help feed 5 hungry people—just by buying a t-shirt

A Kitchener-Waterloo volunteer group is feeding the hungry in their community in a very cool way: by selling super-soft, stylish tees.

What if you could feed five hungry people, just by buying a t-shirt? That's the concept behind feedfive. An initiative started by a few friends in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, its aim is to eliminate hunger in the area.

It all started when the group, all volunteers at the Ray of Hope community centre in Kitchener, started meeting once a month to cook a meal, consisting of meat, vegetables, buttered bread, cookies, and beverages, for the centre's 250 to 300 clients. Originally, they paid for groceries out of their own pockets, but quickly realized that approach wasn't sustainable. That's when they thought of feedfive. Every time someone buys a t-shirt, proceeds go toward groceries for the community centre.

Volunteers prepare meals for people in need once a month.Author: feedfiveCredits: Danny Aguizi

But the most important part of the feedfive process happens after guests eat their meal. They are then able to connect with the Ray of Hope staff who help them through the issues surrounding poverty and homelessness. At the community center, guests have access to daily meals, donated groceries, blankets, hygiene products, showers and laundry facilities.

The guests aren't the only ones that benefit from the experience. Danny Aguizi, one of the founders of feedfive, says that his guests have a lot to offer the volunteers. “I think we got so much more out of the experience than our guests did. They were able to get the meals, but we were just amazed by how gracious people were and how much we learned from them," he says.

One feedfive shirt feeds up to five people.Author: feedfiveCredits: Lydia Frey

Getting involved is easy: buy a t-shirt for $29.00 and help feed people in need. The t-shirts and tanks, which are new for summer, are stylish and, their website makes a point of mentioning, very comfortable. But more importantly, they're produced ethically.

Feedfive is always looking for volunteers to either prepare or serve meals. For more information, or to buy a shirt, go to www.feedfive.ca